My Very Gonzo Life

A conversation with Dave Goelz, the man who for nearly 50 years has served as the voice and puppeteer of Gonzo — the pain-loving, dare-deviling, chicken-dating, Charles Dickens-impersonating, furry blue star of the Muppets

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Excelsior! Stan Lee’s 12 Rules for Writing Comic Books (From 1947, True Believer!)

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Excelsior! Stan Lee’s 12 Rules for Writing Comic Books (From 1947, True Believer!)

“You writers who are itching to crack new markets have a market waiting for you that's just made to order,” Stan Lee exclaimed in a 1947 issue of Writer’s Digest.  Even though superheroes hadn’t yet been around for 20 years, Lee’s 12 rules for writing comics stories hold up pretty dang well today. 

KIDS READ COMICS BUT PLEASE DON'T WRITE DOWN CRACKED.COM A LARGE PORTION OF COMIC MAGAZINE READERS ARE ADULTS AND THE READERS WHO MAY BE KIDS ARE GENERALLY PRETTY SHARP CHARACTERS. THERE ARE PLENTY OF SUB-PLOTS. HUIAAN INTEREST ANGLES AND THE OTHER ELEMENTS THAT GO INTO ANY GOOD STORY.

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE COMIC BOOKS. READ THEM COMICS 10 CRACKEDO SO FAR AS I KNOW. THERE ARE NO SCHOOLS WHICH GIVE COURSES IN COMIC STRIP WRITING CONSTA READING OF THE COMIC MAGAZINES IS THE ONLY WAY TO DEVELOP A FEEL FOR WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD COMIC STRIP.

WRITE SPECIFIC STORIES FOR SPECIFIC COMICS THE AVENGERS... BAH! I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL! GRACKED.COM A STORY WHICH TIMELY COMICS WOULD CONSIDER EXCITING MIGHT BE DEEMED TOO FANTASTIC BY TRUE COMICS CLASSIC COMICS WOULD HAVE 'LITTLE USE FOR A STORY PREFERRED AT FICTION HOUSE! THE ONLY WAY TO GRASP THIS FORMULA IS TO READ THE MAGAZINES.

COME UP WITH AN INTERESTING OPEN BY NOW, THAT WEB- CRAWLING WEASEL MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN ATTENTION, ALL ABOUT THE GREEN GOBLIN! ALL VEB-SPINNERS! BE PREPARED FOR MORE STARTLING, SURPRISE DEVELOPMENTS THAN YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN ANY SINGLE PIDEY SPECTACULAR BEFORE! WE WENT ALL-out ON THIS ONE--S BUCKLE YOUR BELTS, AND WE GO-- THEREFORE, THIS THE PERFECT TIME FOR ME TO STRIKE.. AND GET THE REVENGE THAT CRACKED.COM THE COMIC STRIP MUST CATCH THE READER'S INTEREST FROM THE FIRST THE VERY FIRST FEW PANELS SHOULD SHOW THE READER THAT SOMETHING OF INTEREST IS HAPPENING OR IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

PANEL TO PANEL STRIVE FOR SMOOTH CONTINUITY THERE! NUMBER OF SHE'S NOT I NEVER WELL IT'S TIME TO SET TAKE IT EASY PAL! LEADERS HAVE SAID THAT EXAGGERATING EXPECTED THE RECORD STRAIGHT-- THE KIDS DIDN'T DONT CONTRIBUTE BEN! LOOK ANYTHING HERE AND MEAN ANY HARM NOUGH TO YOU... YOU'D BE LIKE NOW! THEY JUST DON'T -BETTER OFF WITHOUT THIS! UNDERSTAND WE! AND PERHAPS THEY'RE- RIGHT! CRACKED THE ACTION FROM PANEL TO PANEL MUST BE NATURAL AND UNFORCED IF A CHARACTER IS WALKING ON THE STREET TALKING TO ANOTHER CHARACTER IN ONE PANEL WE WOULDN'T SHOW HIM HORSE BACK RIDING IN THE NEXT

COMICS RELY ON SNAPPY DIALOGHE AND THEN, I DIDN'T EXPECT I CALL MYSELF... THE I'LL JUST... A WELCOMING SANDMAN! NOW,THEN,ANY HOLY COMMITTEE, OTHER DUMB QUESTIONS? HANNAH! BUT, SINCE WHO ARE you ASKED... YOU?!! THE SANDMAN! I HEARD OF YOU.... BUT I THOUGHT THE REPORTS WERE JUST A GAG! CRACKED.COM THE ERA OF CAPTAIN AMERICA HITTING RED SKULL AND SHOUTING SO YOU WANT TO PLAY. EH? IS OVER! TODAY. EACH EDITOR TRIES TO GET THE BEST AND SNAPPIEST DIALOGUE POSSIBLE FOR HIS CHARACTERS.

CREATE SUSPENSE! CAN'T-HOLD UP THIS GENERATOR.. ANOTHER SECOND! BUT-IF I COLLAPSE-- THEN PEPPER DIES, AND... FALL,YOU the TIN-HEADED HAG-BEEN! FALL! WHIPPASH WINS! CRACKED.COM WHETHER YOU ARE WRITING A MYSTERY SCRIPT OR A HUMOROUS SCRIPT THE SAME RULE APPLIES: KEEP IT INTERESTING THROUGHOUT THE READER MUST WANT TO LOOK AT THE PICTURES BECAUSE HE IS INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

WRITE A SAFISYING CONCLUSION AND, A SHORT DISTANCE AND A LEAN, SILENT FIGURE AWAY... SLOWLY FADES INTO THE GATHERING DARKNESS, AWARE My FAULT-- ALL AT LAST THAT IN THIS WORLD, MY FAULT! IF WITH GREAT POWER THERE ONLY I HAD MUST ALSO COME- GREAT STOPPED HIM RESPONSIBILITY! WHEN I COULD HAVE! BUT I DIDN'T-AND NOW --UNCLE BEN-- IS DEAD... GRAGKED.COM AN ENDING WHICH LEAVES THE READER WITH A FEELING THAT ALL THE LOOSE STRINGS OF THE STORY HAVE BEEN NEATLY TIED TOGETHER CAN COVER A MULTITUDE. OF SINS.

THE GUY YOU'RE MOST INTERESTED IN: THE EDITOR GRACKED.COM THE EDITOR OF COMICS NOT ONLY CONSIDERS THE MERITS OF A SCRIPT BUT ALSO WHETHER IT IS WRITTEN IN A MANNER THAT WILL SUIT THE ARTIST'S STYLE OF DRAWING IT'S THE EDITOR'S TASK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SCRIPTS HE BUYS ARE PERFECTLY SUITED.

TAILOR YOUR STORY TO THE ARTIST CRACKEDO ACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH THE STYLE OF ART WORK AND SLANT YOUR STORY SO THAT PARTICULAR STYLE WILL BLEND IN PERFECTLY WITH YOUR STORY THE WRITERS WHO CONCENTRATE ON SUCH DETAILS ARE THE ONES WHO ATTAIN TOP RECOGNITION AND TOP RATES.

LEARN TO WRITE IN COMICS FORMAT Panel 1. Scene in office, as Louise clears up her desk. 1. Louise: (thought) He never no- Mark faces her. lices me! All he ever thinks of is the Blonde Phantom! Mark: Gash, if I could only find where the Blonde Phex- tom lives! We could have a night of it together1 Panel 2. Louise, hands outward, looking at the reader, 2. Louise: mean? as if her thoughts in the previous panel were just proven true by what Mark has said. Panel 3. Louise, ready to leave office. Mark sits on desk 3. Louise:

DEVELOP SEVERAL STORY PLOTS CRACKED.COM SEND SOME SYNOPSES OF STORIES TO THE EDITOR MAKE THEM THE SAME TYPES OF STORIES WHICH HAD BEEN APPEARING IN ALL THE ISSUES YOU READ. (NOT THE SAME PLOT JUST THE SAME TYPE.) SHOULD YOUR SYNOPSES CLICK. YOU'LL GET AN ORDER.

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